family vacation . Mt Rushmore?

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

Ok, trying to figure out where to go this summer with the wife and two kids. (13 + 8) Thinking of going to Mt Rushmore. Probably going to fly into Denver and drive up stopping at anything interesting along the way. Or I should ask, is there anything along the way? How many days do you need in the Rapid City area to see everything? What about Devils Tower? Any tips would be appreciated.

Jeff Higgins · 05-08-2006, 06:58 PM

Don't go anywhere near the place (Mt Rushmore, Rapid City) during the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Second week of August.

Crazy Horse is also worth seeing, as is Deadwood. You should be able to cover the whole area (Black Hills) in two or three days. There is a visitors' center in Sturgis that has some great maps of all the local attractions.

The Badlands are a must see, and Devil's Tower is pretty cool. Add another couple of days to take those in, as there is a fair amount of driving involved. My geography of that area is a little weak, but I think if you are heading North out of Denver, it probably is either on the way or not much of a detour to hit both of these.

HardDrive · 05-08-2006, 07:14 PM

I'm thinking 2 to 3 days should do it. Sort of depends on your travel mode. Crazy Horse monument is only 30 minutes from Rushmore. Devils Tower is a few hours away (can't recall exactly). Its a beautiful area. We took some of the back roads on the way to devils tower and hit some great antique shops.

There is a short steam train line that runs in the area.

If you want to do more 'touristy' stuff, there is a lot to do in the area as well.

EDIT: Hmmmmm....2-3 days is to short, especially if you are going to the badlands.

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

Last Fall I spent 15 minutes at Mt. Rushmore with my son. 'bout did it for me. "Look, four old guys carved into the mountain. Do you want to get some gum?"

No disrespect intended, but if you build it up too much, there's gonna be some disappointed young people. You can't climb in their mouths, put gigantic Q-Tips in ther ears, swing from their nose hairs, etc. But it is a nice pic:

The drive up the the monument was really great though (part of a Chicago to SF road trip). We also got stopped by some Bison on the road, that was cool.

But a family sightseeing vacation? I dunno, maybe it is because I went on too many road trips with my parents, all of my vacations are are bit more destination oriented so we can all play together. This summer I rented a house on Cour d'Alene and will get a power boat so my kids can ski, swim, make fires by the lake, etc.

But however you do it - vacations are a great thing. We have the best memories from them.

Enjoy!

RoninLB · 05-08-2006, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rattlsnak
Ok, trying to figure out where to go this summer with the wife and two kids. (13 + 8)

Thinking of going to Mt Rushmore. Any tips would be appreciated.

If the kids can deal with a tour bus a tour group thru the San Jauns Isl's , Vancouver, Whistler, etc is great for 7-10days. If the kids can't sit still hit Club Med Martineque in the Carab as they take the kids 9-5 and they're fully entertained. The bride can also go safe shopping alone.

928ram · 05-09-2006, 04:44 AM

We went to Rushmore as part of a cross-country move (pre-child); saw it, stayed the night local, re-routed the trip to Yellowstone. I think Yellowstone would be more fun for the whole family if you haven't already been there.

artplumber · 05-09-2006, 04:45 AM

Can't one side trip to Yellowstone on the way up or back from Denver?

928ram · 05-09-2006, 04:51 AM

Without looking at a map... I think they are both about the same distance from Denver, a nice triangle would do both.

stevepaa · 05-09-2006, 07:10 AM

I have taken my kids all across the country using a tent trailer. They now are all in college and tell me thanks for taking them. Their friends have never been anywhere. Why not do the Oregon trail from Kansas City up to Yellowstone area, the Tetons, then down to Salt Lake, down through lower Utah, Bryce, Arches and then back across Texas to home?

Or drive to the Grand Canyon and camp on both rims?

O go up to the Smokeys or go see Bar Harbour, Maine? Or fly to SF and go to Yosemite.

They will thank you for all the work later.

Seahawk · 05-09-2006, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by stevepaa
I have taken my kids all across the country using a tent trailer. They now are all in college and tell me thanks for taking them. Their friends have never been anywhere.
They will thank you for all the work later.

All true ++1

My son and I camped across country a few years ago (met my wife and daughter in Bend, Oregon) and stopped at Mt. Rushmore.

Very impressive but very crowded. Keystone was a horror show. As soon as we left the monument we took backrounds south all through the Black Hills (Custer State Park) and then back north and west to the interstate headed west at Gillette. Took all day (we stopped and hiked a bunch) and was great, with almost no traffic or people.

Side trip to Rouchford was fun

Have fun!

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

Thanks for the ideas.

Don, that sounds dead on. Thats funny. Thats what my wife says. I could just print your pic and say ive been there!

I always try to take them somewhere 'far'. We have done the Grand Canyon, Smokeys, etc. Yellwostone would be cool, as ive been there, but i think that is too far from Denver. Of course i dont have to go to Denver, thats just what i was planning if i go to Rushmore. We also thought about DC, but i want the kids to be a little older for that. Also Yosemite would be awesome too.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

I have done the Wind Cave National Park, Crazy Horse, Mout Rushmore trip as well. I also grew up driving across the US a bunch of times (my dad was active duty Navy so we moved from on coast to the other) and really enjoyed it. That is one of the reasons we got the camper, so I could pass the same thing on to my kids.

I know Sturgis SD is about 6-7 hours from Denver. The area around there is awesome. I enjoy going up there to ride (except in August, I avoid it like the plague cause of the rally).

I thought Crazy Horse was kind of lame, ofcourse its been 10 years since I was there. Rushmore was cool, but smaller than I had always imagined. I second the advice on looking into other local attractions, and just driving around. It can be a cool part of the country. Are you planning on staying in hotels?

Bill

teenerted1 · 05-09-2006, 03:25 PM

did a road trip in college to mt Rushmore and devil's tower. cant remember how long the driving actually took but made for a fun weekend.

decided one Thursday night after seeing close encounters that we need to go to devils tower. left Thursday night from Ft Collins,CO don't know what time it was dark (most sober guys started the drive). was at the tower in the morning when i woke up in the back of the car. hiked around for a couple hrs then off to mt Rushmore. hung around there for a few hrs too. back in the car and off to home. arrived home sometime Sunday, think we took a wrong turn somewhere but didn't care. too many beers got me out of driving that weekend. woke up Monday morning and failed mid term.

but hey what a trip...wish i could remember more.

artplumber · 05-09-2006, 04:11 PM

Have you thought about taking one of the trains as a vacation? Different kind of travel, some of them go through incredible country (eg Colorado continental divide, Glacier Natl Park, etc) and you end up (usually) in a nice city like Seattle etc.

ledhedsymbols · 05-09-2006, 05:18 PM

If you hit up Yellowstone and then across Montana to South Dakota, you can see Pompeys Pillar just east of Billings (Lewis and Clark carved their names in the Sandstone) Custer Battlefield isn't too far out of the way, and swing by my old hometown in Forsyth. You can also see a monstrous Coal Strip mine in (get this!) Colstrip Montana. Just some thoughts from a local.

Micah